In response to a Deseret News invitation to readers to share the "most memorable" practical jokes done to them or by them, we received a flood of letters, e-mails and faxes. In this section we first offer the six we judged the best, but the judgment is purely subjective. Form your own opinion by reading all the submissions.
I was teaching eighth-graders in Goldfield, Nev. I didn't know until I moved there that the former boomtown sits on a tarantula migration path. I didn't know tarantulas mgrated. Having just graduated from the University of Montana (December 1990), I was hired, sight-unseen to take over the contract of a teacher who had been summoned to Desert Storm. My 10 eighth-graders were less than thrilled to see me arrive on the scene (Jan. 2, 1991). They had been shoved in with the seventh-graders since November, and their previous couple of months had been fairly carefree and chaotic.They were all taller than I.After suffering the shenanigans that only eighth-graders are capable of dishing out (already-been-chewed gum on my windshield, gravel being tossed at the siding of my school district-supplied trailer home, and even a face-to-face threat from Steve who proclaimed in front of the entire class, "You know, I bet if we tried hard enough, we could have you out of here in a week!"), a plan started to form in my head. I think I heard about it on a television sitcom once.
To preface the whole scheme, I occasionally made homemade treats for my students. One week I showed up with chocolate chip cookies. Nobody turned down my cinnamon rolls, still warm from being baked that morning. I was winning them over! There was nothing suspicious about my passing out caramel-covered "apples" on the morning of April 1. In fact, the school's secretary, Vickie, was in on my secret.
The night before, I shopped for the 10 most apple-like onions I could find. I took them home and peeled them, hoping the odor wouldn't seep through the caramel. I melted the caramel and stabbed each onion with a fork. I decided to go the whole nine yards and rolled those luscious looking "apples" in nuts. Vickie told me right away that she could smell the onion, so I consoled myself by saying, "If it flops, it flops." The students arrived at the bell, and I lost no time in executing my plan.
"Boys and girls, I've been busy in the kitchen again and have a special treat for you. I hope you like caramel-covered apples." Their response was nothing less than positive. I continued, "However, rather than just giving them to you, I think we should have a little contest. The first one who can finish eating their caramel apple doesn't have to do any work today." They were extremely pleased about this reward! I further explained, "Vickie is going to be the judge today, so I'd like everyone to put their hands behind their backs until we get all of the apples passed out. On your marks, get set . . . GO!!!"
Well, you can imagine! Looks of HORROR came over their faces as they realized what I had done. They shot invisible arrows of poison at me with their eyes, as if to say, "Traitor!" I was pleased that I had pulled it off, and Vickie was bent over in laughter. The really funny part was that one of my students was still trying to win the contest. His classmate shook his shoulder and yelled, "Steve! It's an ONION, man!" Steve stopped briefly and announced, "I don't care. I'm eating it anyway." He tried but just couldn't force himself to finish a caramel-covered raw onion. We all got along really well after that.
Jody Fassett
Alpine Elementary
Alpine
Floyd was always a practical joker, but April 1 was one of his favorites. We all knew not to eat anything Floyd brought on that day, to very carefully open any package received that day and to generally watch our backs at all times when he was around. So when another couple in our group asked us over for a dinner party on April 1, we felt we were in for an evening of fun. Were we ever right.
Floyd and Susan arrived at the party about a half hour late, which should have been a warning. The party itself was great fun, but when we got home, someone else's pictures were hanging on the walls, our living room sofa, end tables and coffee table were all different, and strange dishes were in the cupboard. A few phone calls revealed that other friends suffered the same fate and that the wall hangings, dishes, and furniture all belonged in different homes of our friends. It took the next evening and a little sleuthing to get them back to their owners and to find what belonged in our home. I still do not know how they did it in 30 minutes or how they bribed all the babysitters to keep quiet about the strange "movers" who were active that April Fools' Day night.
Tom and Larena Matthews
Brigham City
It was April 1, 1998, ApriI Fools' Day, and I had to go to school. WelI, anyone who knows me knows that I am never on time. Because I am always so late, I never eat breakfast. But this particular day, I had time to eat for some reason. So, I went to the kitchen and mixed up some cinnamon-sugar for my toast. I took a big bite, and . . . YUCK! My dad, the jokester, had traded the sugar for the salt. I didn't have time to make anything else, so I went to school mad! I was furious the whole day! Well, when I got home from school that day, I was still very angry. My little brother, Layton, was the only one home. The phone rang and I answered it.
"Hello?"
"Hi, Shelley, this is Dad," my dad said.
"What do you want?" I asked angrily.
"Is Mom home?"
"No."
"When will she be back?" he questioned.
"Why does it matter?"
"Well, I was in a car accident, and I need her to come out to the hospital."
"Really!? What! . . . yeah right! This is another one of your little jokes, isn't it?" I asked.
"No, Shelley. This is real," he said. "Some guy rear-ended me, and I hurt my neck. I'm waiting for treatment right now."
"You're hilarious, Dad," I said, dully.
"Shelley, I'm telling the truth." He tried to convince me.
"Forget it, Dad!" I said. "You're not gonna pull anymore on me!" And I hung up the phone. Layton asked me what happened, so I told him and we got a big laugh out of it! An hour later, my mom came home. I told her the story, and we got yet another laugh.
"Don't you think he's gone a bit overboard this time?" she asked me. "What if it's real?"
"Trust me, Mom," I said. "This is all an April Fools' joke!" Then we all laughed again at how clever our dad was.
Two hours later, we hadn't heard from my dad since he had called and talked to me. My mom got worried and called the hospital. She asked if he was there, and they said that, yes, he was. He was awaiting treatment and needed her to be there with him and bring him home later.
Boy, did I feel bad! But Iet this be a lesson to all those jokesters out there. Someday, it's gonna backfire!
Shelley Asmus
Bountiful
"The pigs are out!!!" Oh, how we children hated to hear those dreaded words. We lived in the country, and behind our house on our lot there was an old ramshackle barn and fenced-in area. When my oldest brother, Paul, was in high school, he decided to raise pigs for his FAA (Future Farmers of America) project. The only problem was, he didn't much like to take care of his pigs.
He would feed them now and again when he would think about it. The fence and barn were badly in need of repair, and the hungry pigs usually found a way out to go foraging on their own. This was especially a problem after the pigs had new litters. The trouble was the neighbors didn't much like them in their gardens and yards, and sometimes the pigs even tried to go in their houses looking for dinner. Day or night, after neighbors' phone calls, the whole family would run frantically through the fields, yards, barns in search of the wayward pigs. My being small, and the pigs being large and hungry, this was often a frightening ordeal for me. I would usually carry a big pan and bang it with a spoon as loud as I could.
My only intent was just to keep the pigs away from me. Lucky for me, I had five older brothers and sisters.
Saturday morning, 6 a.m., came the frantic yell from my mom. Everybody up! The pigs are out!! Madly rushing for clothes and shoes, we were out running the fields and yards searching for the wayward swine, for that's what we called them at that early hour. Trouble was, we couldn't find them. Eventually, we all returned from our separate ways, only to check the barn to see pigs and piglets safely enclosed. You should have seen Mom's laughing face when she yelled out, "April Fools'!" We did have bacon and eggs that morning for breakfast. And no one was more surprised than my family when Paul's pig won "grand champion fat hog" at the Utah State Fair later that year! We're not sure what did it, the diet or the exercise.
Carol Chandler
South Jordan
Some years ago when I was the general manager of Deseret Book Co., I hosted a luncheon meeting in the old Hotel Utah Coffee Shop. After the luncheon I took the check and went to the cashier to pay the bill. I opened my wallet (this was in the days before credit cards were invented) and, to my horror, discovered that I only had $5,000 worth of Monopoly money in my wallet! My wife had carefully taken all my money from my wallet and put in the Monopoly money. The cashier started to laugh because she realized it was April Fools' Day. That thought had not entered my mind. Fortunately I was only across the street from the Deseret Book store, so I rushed over, got some money and paid the bill.
Needless to say, my wife and I had a rather spirited conversation that night, and she enjoyed every minute of my discomfort.
Jim Mortimer
Salt Lake City
My favorite practical joke and one I continue to share 25 years later was pulled on an unsuspecting blind date of our roommate, Rhonda. Rhonda was uneasy about a blind date she had accepted, and all of us roomies were sitting around trying to figure out how she could get out of it.
She was scheduled to meet him at the Wilkinson Center in the commons area wearing a white blouse, dark skirt and a red ribbon in her hair so he would be able to recognize her. Since all of us were about the same height and had dark hair we decided to all go to the Wilkinson Center wearing white blouses, dark skirt and a red ribbon in our hair. We were each to come in a different entrance. When her date would approach one of us, she would get a good look at him and then decide if she wanted to meet him. We all loved the idea and were game to try it.
The night of the date, we all dressed alike with our red ribbons in our hair and headed to the Wilkinson Center.
As planned, we each entered from different entrances and went to the commons area. We were all on the lookout for the unsuspecting fellow, and it soon became evident who he was. We all noticed a confused-looking young man who was looking from one of us to another. He would begin to approach one of us, then stop and look at another roommate. After five minutes he finally approached me and asked if I was Rhonda. I said, "No." He then said, "I'm supposed to meet a girl here tonight, and she said she would be wearing a white blouse, dark skirt and a red ribbon in her hair so I could find her. But I've never seen so many girls wearing red ribbons in their hair!"
At that point, all of us converged on the unsuspecting soul. He stared at each of us with shock until we all burst into laughter and shared with him what we had done. He was a wonderful sport and took us all out on the date for ice cream.
Cynthia Jensen Conk
Evanston, Wyo.
I believe my wife, Lois, was born pulling pranks. For 45 years of married bliss, I seemed to fall for her pranks every year.
Our wedding date is April 2, so I was usually thinking about that and not April 1. One year we went to Manti to go to the temple on our anniversary. Early that morning, Lois was in the motel bathroom and let out a cry of alarm. I ran in, and she was holding her left hand and pointing to the bathroom lavatory drain. She didn't have to tell me what had happened. I could see it in my mind. I quickly threw on my pants and shoes and ran to my truck. Being an electrician and an appliance repairman, I always had plenty of tools in the truck or car.
I grabbed two large channel lock pliers, a flashlight and a piece of wire. First I tried to fish the ring out from the sink. That didn't work, so I proceeded to take the plumbing apart. I asked her to hold the flashlight for me, and I lay down on the floor and started to work. I asked her to hand me another pair of pliers, and then I noticed that on her left hand were two pretty shining rings that matched the two shining eyes that were telling me "I gotcha again." And she was right.
Chuck Cunningham
Vernal
Not every year does my husband do an April Fools' Day trick, but sometimes he does. The kids love it.
Last year our 10-year-old daughter decided she wanted to do something for her dad. She got up after we'd all gone to bed the night before April 1 and took every single box of cereal out of the kitchen and pantry and food storage and hid them in the living room.
Hearing noises, I got up to see what was happening and then whispered to my husband what she was doing. He got up early on April 1 and returned the trick to Sarah by stacking every single one of those boxes of cereal in front of her bedroom door. As he called to her to get up, he was standing there with the camera to take a picture of her "surprise." It was great fun!
Julie and Scott Stringfellow
Farmington
I can't resist.
Many years ago, when we five children were living at home, our dad was always catching us in April Fools' pranks, but we could never get him.
Well, once we did.
When he came home from work, he always had a cup of tea, and in that cup always went two heaping teaspoons of sugar. Well, we replaced the sugar with salt (of course, we asked our mom first). Then we all stood around while the customary cup of tea was poured and the "sugar" was added. We didn't know what would happen. We waited with bated breath. Finally the first drink of tea was downed. There was not a word spoken by him, but the look on the face will ever be remembered as priceless. He was very cool and took the joke like a man when we all called, "April Fool."
Edna Sandell
West Valley City
My husband was always playing tricks on me, but I could never seem to get him back. One April Fools' Day when I made his lunch I put a piece of cardboard between the ham and cheese. I had written on it with magic marker the words "got ya!" Then I hoped that he would not check the sandwich before he took a bite. A little after noon I got a phone call from him. He said, "Boy, this time you really got me good!" He said he was really hungry and in a hurry, so when he tried to take a big bite, the cardboard really surprised and stunned him. Luckily he didn't get angry with me but seemed to think it was a pretty good prank. The kids thought it was great that I finally got one over on him.
Teresa Chapman
Cedar Hills
An April Fools' joke on my fourth-grade daughter, Veronica Smith:
On Halloween she got scary food and on St. Patrick's Day she got green food, so when Veronica opened her lunch box on April Fools' Day and found good food, she was excited. This was no ordinary meal; this was a dream meal -- hamburger, french fries and soft drink from Burger King!
Wow! What a great April Fools' trick to sneak awesome food like this into her lunch box without her knowledge. Friends were envious. Mouths were watering. So lucky!
Open the ketchup, squeeze it on the fries and bite. Huh? What? Plastic?
The burger, buns, tomato, cheese . . . every bit of this dream meal was fake -- toys from her mother's day-care business wrapped carefully in authentic wrappers! Searching through for anything edible, she found this note, "April Fools'! Go to the office." There, thank goodness, was a McDonald's meal with REAL food waiting for her. The fries were hot, and the drink was cold. And best of all, she could eat it! Unforgettable!
I did this to my daughter when she was 10. She's now 17 and developing without emotional scars . . . so far!
Lethia Smith
Centerville
Having been born on April Fools' Day (in 1950) and being a bit of a jokester myself, I've had more than my share of pranks pulled on me. But I've pulled a lot myself. One of the earliest memories I have of the tricks that were pulled on me is the beautiful birthday cake an older sister made for me that I was invited to cut. It blew up! It was a lot of whipped cream and frosting over an inflated balloon. In my teen years, as I was beginning to take an interest in my looks, I was given a toiletry kit that included (among other things) a used toothbrush, a broken comb, a small bottle of yellow (toilet) water (it was warm, too), and an enema kit.
But I guess the best prank pulled on me was by my wife. It was in 1981 when I was building our new home next to my parents' home. I would go over to my parents' home to eat lunch and get any messages my wife had forwarded about the house or materials. On my birthday there was a message to call Mrs. Maines at a Bountiful number and to ask for Myra. Being in a hurry and hungry and not really thinking what day it was, I made the call. A sweet voice answered "Russon Brothers Mortuary," and I thought it was weird that I needed to call them, but I dutifully asked to speak to Myra Maines.
That was when it dawned on me what had just happened. I called my wife and we laughed about it for several minutes. I couldn't believe she would do that to me.
Probably the best trick I ever pulled was at work about six years ago. I got my kids to help me. Going to my work late in the evening of March 31, we used a compressor to fill almost a thousand colored balloons and then filled my boss's office with these balloons. I mean we literally filled the room. There were balloons of all shapes and sizes and you couldn't even see his desk when we finished. As an added bonus, we put those little poppers, with strings on each end, on several of the exit doors so that when the night watchman opened the doors to make his rounds they'd go off.
When you're all alone in a big building and something like that goes off . . . well, you know what happens. But this isn't the end to the story. My boss expected that I would clean up the balloons at the end of the day, which I did, putting them in as many large garbage bags as my station wagon would hold. Later that night we took them to the home of a friend and filled his car with the balloons. His daughter thought she was being asked to a dance at the high school and they checked every balloon to see if it held a note or something. It took them hours. They found out I had done it, and the balloons ended up at my house where they were used again.
Rob Ellis
Woods Cross
I have worked in the public education system for a number of years and witnessed children's attempts to be "funny" on April Fools' Day, a day teachers usually rue. The best trick I have ever witnessed was achieved by some very sneaky lunch ladies at Copperview Elementary School in Jordan District many years ago. No, it wasn't gummi worms in the spaghetti.
Copperview at that time housed a special needs class with a very creative and gifted teacher who loved to help her class learn in innovative ways. This April Fools' Day she decided to teach them the value of school. When they got off the bus and entered the building that morning they found the room locked, lights off, and a sign on the door stating that school was canceled and the students were to go home. Her intention was to meet the students in the hall after they had had some time to mull over their dilemma and have a class discussion on the value of school.
In the meantime, the lunch ladies from across the hall intercepted the kids and hid them in the back of the kitchen and fed them cookies and milk. You can imagine the teacher's dilemma when she discovered that her whole class of special needs children was missing.
Lynn Montgomery
Edgemont Elementary School
A few years ago my neighbor, Bryan, had his home broken into. Among other things, his stereo equipment was taken. I thought of an April Fools' prank that would fit right in. Mind you, he pulls as many pranks on others as he receives, so this was justified.
I stopped by our local R.C. Willey outlet and inquired if they had a stereo box I could borrow. After explaining what I intended to do -- fill it with bricks weighing the same as a stereo and sealing it to look unopened -- I would then bring it back to RCW and ask them to make a call to my neighbor saying he had won a drawing from their store. I knew Bryan frequently entered drawings and I submitted his name on occasion, too, so I knew he would fall for this one.
The employees of RCW were really game and offered to actually deliver the box to Bryan's home. I took the box home, packed it, put an April Fools' note inside, and returned it to the store. I watched for my neighbor to get home from work and immediately called RCW. They arrived in their delivery truck just a short time later. I watched as they carried the box to the front door and knocked.
I wish I had seen Bryan's face as he opened the door, because the delivery was very official. The RCW employees had printed out a regular invoice which they required Bryan to sign before receiving his prize. Earlier I had made a phony entry blank form filled in with his name, address, etc., that they attached to the box to show he was a winner! It was only minutes later that I received a phone call from Bryan, questioning, "Muriel, did you enter my name in another drawing?" I had previously done so and he won a picnic table. I replied that I was sure I had, but "why?" He then told me all about the unscheduled RCW delivery and stated that I should come and claim my "unopened" prize. (You can see here that my prank almost backfired!)
I asked what the prize was and where it came from. He told me, and I said that I didn't recall entering anything at RCW. He was adamant that I had and that the prize was mine, even after he said he had recently entered a drawing at one of their stores, though he couldn't remember what for. Finally, I was able to persuade him to open the box, explaining I was too busy to make it over right then. I said, "Just open it and tell me what it looks like, even though I'm sure it is for you." We continued to argue and chat as he opened the box, and I told him how great it was that HE'D won something he needed to replace that had been stolen. Whether he'll admit it or not, I know deep-down inside he was excited, hoping it was for him!
After removing some of the packing, he questioned out loud, "What's this?" as he came across individually wrapped bricks. His exact words I don't remember. His voice did sound a little dejected, though. He said something to the tune of "You really did it this time, didn't you? Very funny. You just wait, I'll get you back. I really owe you one -- especially after the cake from last year!" (Which is another story all its own). Anyway, you know what, he's NEVER gotten me back. And he probably never will!
Muriel Wilson
South Jordan
When we had been married just a few years, my husband worked construction in California. I made him a lunch to take to work every day, and thought I was doing a pretty good job. He told me, however, that every day the men would sit around and compare their lunch, saying, "What kind of "gagger" do you have today?"
I felt kind of hurt as I really tried hard to make his lunch interesting.
So, when April Fools' Day rolled around I decided to surprise him.
The lunch meat used to have a light weight cardboard (or heavy paper) on top of it that looked like the picture of the meat. So I made his lunch and left the paper on top of the meat on the sandwich and put everything on it as usual.
He said he couldn't even bite through it, and so he opened it up and found the picture. His friends thought it was really funny.
Another year I cut his sandwiches up with cookie cutters shaped like hearts and spades, and left it all together and wrapped it and sent him off to work. Of course it all came apart when he picked it up, and he had these small shaped sandwiches to eat. I thought it was very funny and so did his friends.
Many years later when we were living in Provo and had small children, I told them one Monday that we were going to have a special treat for family night. They were all excited and couldn't wait. They asked me what it was going to be and I told them "Pine Floats." Of course they didn't think it was funny at all to get a glass of seven-up with a tooth pick in it. I stopped doing things like that after that.
Betty Henrie
American Fork
My most memorable April Fools' moment would have to be the birth of our first child. He was born three weeks early. When my husband tried to call our family and tell them we had the baby, they said, "Yeah, right, April Fools'!" It took a lot of convincing for them to believe that we really had given birth!
But our most memorable prank is one that my children pull on me every year. They delight in wrapping a rubber band around the kitchen sink sprayer so that when I turn on the water , instead of it coming out of the faucet, it sprays me right in the face and chest. Why do I fall for this every year, you may ask? Well, they are clever enough not to do it first thing in the morning, so I let my guard down. Then at some point in the day, when I least expect it, to their delight, I will turn on the water, and bam, I get wet. The glee on their faces is almost worth getting wet for, and I can't help but laugh at myself for falling for the same old trick again and again.
Sue Wilson
Murray
My most memorable April Fools' joke took place while I was in college. My roommates and I decided to make a very special kind of snickerdoodles. These cookies, as you may know, are made by forming balls of dough which are then rolled in cinnamon and sugar and which flatten out as they bake. Well, after forming the little balls, we split each one open and inserted a small piece of nylon stocking (boiled, for sterility!), re-formed the ball, and then rolled them in the cinnamon-sugar. When they baked, you couldn't tell by looking at them that they were actually "filled" cookies!
Then we proceeded to deliver our treats to several male friends, including my brother and his roommates. We waited while each guy had a turn sampling our delicious fare. At first, they thought the cookies were just "extra chewy," but upon further examination, they were quite dismayed to learn that the cookies contained nylon socks! One of the guys was especially disgusted, as he exclaimed, "And I bet they were pantyhose!" The pieces of nylon sock came out quite easily, and the rest of the cookie was quite tasty. (Too bad the appetite wasn't so good after the fact!) My roommates and I have laughed about this great joke for years!
Rachael Sheffield
Salt Lake City
I would like to share a memory of an April Fools' Day, but it may not fit in with the type of memories you are looking for.
My wife and I were living in San Diego. My sister had married my wife's brother and they lived less than three miles from us. On April Fools' Day of 1951 they had their first child, a daughter. They were expecting their second child in 1954 and the due date was to be in the early part of April. About 4 a.m. our phone rang. My sister told us she had started labor, and asked if we would come over to their house to watch their first child, (to be 3 years old that day), while her husband took her to the hospital to deliver their second child. Then she added in a very positive tone of voice, "AND THIS IS NO APRIL FOOL'S JOKE!"
We did go over and I offered to take them in our car, because it was already warmed up and running. My wife would stay with the young chid. They went with me, and then my sister told me to not take the bumps so slowly, unless I wanted her to have the baby in my car. She delivered their second daughter about an hour or so after arrival at the hospital.
A couple of years later, 1956, she also was about to deliver near April Fools' Day. Not wanting to have THREE children with that same birthday, she really worked cleaning the house, and being active to speed up the delivery. It worked. They had a son born on March 22, 1956.
My wife and I now live in Sandy. These two nieces now live in Orem, and the third one, the son, now lives in Idaho.
Billy J. Wilhite
Sandy
It was April Fools' Day in the 1960s. My husband was off to work and the children headed for school. The breakfast dishes were finished and two batches of clothes would soon be in the right place. I relaxed for a few minutes at the sink, looking out the window enjoying the signs of spring. As I glanced down at my hands I was shocked to see the diamond was missing from the setting. I was devastated.
My hands had been in and out of water and I was sure it was gone for good.
In my mind I said "goodbye" to the diamond. As I swept the kitchen floor my eyes were looking in vain. The dirt was in the dust pan and just as I was about to empty it into the trash there was a sparkle. Not believing it could be my diamond I still stopped and took a closer look. There was my diamond. A miracle.
As my husband was always getting me on April Fools' Day, I suddenly thought of an opportunity to get him really good. He always called from work to find out if we needed anything. As I talked I asked him to please bring his tools because he would have to take the plumbing apart. Perhaps he could find my diamond in the kitchen drain. I could hardly wait.
On his arrival he walked into the kitchen with the toolbox and sat down on the floor in front of the sink. He chose the proper pipe wrench as I stood watching. He chose the right angle and as he put the wrench around the pipe and was about ready to make a turn, I quietly said "April Fools' Day, darling." The look on his face was worth the years of trying to fool him. I was satisfied with my achievement. We were both happy the diamond was saved.
I've had lots of fun in my life and am now 88 years young but a widow.
Maureen Herber Smith
Santaquin
This was not an April Fools' Day prank, but a trick that worked very well. I had a brother-in-law who had taken up drinking coffee. I took my mother, father and my children to my sister's place for a "picnic lunch" with my two nephews and their parents. We had to eat inside because of the weather. Mu sister opened a can of black olives and I called out, "Don't throw away the juice." I then heated the juice and poured it into a cup. This was served to my brother-in-law. The olive juice steamed and looked perfect. He put cream in it (I thought he'd catch on to the trick -- I thought it would curdle or something). He then proceeded to put the cup to his mouth and drink his "coffee." It wasn't until this time that he realized the prank we had played on him. He loved it! And the whole family enjoyed this "trick."
Shirley Kalawaia
Salt Lake City
One of our children put cornflakes between the sheets of their sister's bed on April Fools' Day. But, when she went to turn down her bed to get in it that evening, she heard some crunchy sounds, pulled back the covers and found the cornflakes. She thought she was very smart to have found them and called her brothers to get the vacuum and clean up the room. In the meantime, another child had changed the hose on the vacuum, from suction to blowing, so that she could blow up a balloon. The brothers brought the vacuum into the bedroom, and not noticing the change in hose, turned it on. Instead of cornflakes in the bed, they were all over the room! Lots of laughter followed and whenever we talk of April Fools' jokes, we remember the time when cornflakes were flying!
Frank and Lucy Taylor
Salt Lake City
We had four boys -- one in grade school and three in high school. They loved being home on Saturdays and one of the first things they did was to get the morning paper and read the funnies. This particular Saturday morning we told them that they couldn't see the paper until we were all together.
We gathered them in the living room and then began to tell them of an adventure. We said the Peace Corps had decided it would be good to send a family abroad somewhere to help the people in that land. The big news was that we had accepted the challenge and our family was to be the very first to serve in the Peace Corps. Dad had quit his job and now we must be prepared to go.
We said we had not shown them the newspaper because there was a news article on the front page about our call. Then we gave them the paper and in large red letters over the front page it said "April Fools'."
They are now in their 40s and 50s, and they didn't think it was funny then and they still don't!!
Elizabeth H. Steele
Draper
I do not know if this is what you are looking for. I grew up in the '30s on a farm in western Kansas. We had the state highway going by our home. On April Fools' Day it was a tradition to look and even stare out the east window. Finally someone would ask, "What you are looking at?" My reply was, "A hobo is coming down the road." Every one would come look and I would tell them, "April Fools'." Now over 50 years later my sister in Wichita or I will call early on April 1 and answer by saying, "A man is walking down the road."
Sometimes my sis will lay the phone down to go see. Just a little inside family joke.
Fritz Schweitzer
Bountiful
The April 1 joke that my wife and I remember best was a joke she pulled on me about six months after we were married, which turned out to be on her instead. I was in my senior year in college and worked part time as a lab instructor, which gave me a desk in a shared office. I would eat the sandwich lunch she always lovingly prepared for me while reading at my desk each noon. Often, she would ask me how I liked my lunch and I could not remember what I had eaten. So, on April 1, she put Kleenex in my sandwich to get my attention. The funny part was that I ate the sandwich while reading and did not know of her joke until she asked me that night how I liked my lunch. When she realized that her April Fools' joke had had no effect on me, she confessed what she had done and we both had a good laugh.
April Fools' Day is a major event in England, which we discovered while we were living there. The one that they generally consider to be the best joke ever went like this: There is a town built adjacent to a small mountain which the townspeople considered to be very beautiful and the scenic highlight of the area. It had a peak with a very lovely shape. One day, the local morning paper in horror reported that one of their investigative reporters had discovered that the mountain had been secretly purchased by a mining company which had discovered an extremely valuable deposit of the rare mineral, lirpa loof, in the top of the mountain. Further investigation revealed that this company had obtained a permit for open pit mining.
The appearance of the mountain after mining the mineral had been projected based on the apparent extent of the mineral deposit, and the artist's conception of the appearance of the mountain after lirpa loof removal was printed on the front page. The mountain looked as though its entire top had been cut off halfway up and only a flat mesa remained. The beautiful peak was completely gone.
Needless to say, the townspeople were up in arms. There were numerous irate phone calls to government officials trying to block mining of the mountain, people in the town talked of nothing else all day, and all sorts of ideas were expounded of ways to protect their mountain. Only late in the day did someone notice that lirpa loof spelled backwards is April Fool, and that the date was April 1. While we lived there (just a few years ago) remembrance of this "best joke ever" was published in the papers (much as you are planning to do here) and that is how we heard about it.
George A. Mortimer
Farmington
Being the mother of six sons ranging in age from 4 to 17, I look forward to April Fools' Day to return some of the "pleasures" that are bestowed upon me throughout the year. One year, I purchased ahead of time some big ugly plastic bugs from a toy store. I got up early April Fools' morning and baked muffins and cooked scrambled eggs with my special "added touch" hidden inside. My boys were excited for the breakfast until they took bites. We still laugh about that breakfast going into the garbage can since they all lost their appetites.
Who would have thought? Another year, I packed their sack lunches for school with a slight variation. The lunch meat and veggies on their sandwiches were cut out of the appropriate color of construction paper. We have done the Vaseline on the toilet seat, short-sheeting the bed, setting alarms to go off in the night, etc. The fun is to not be consistent. Some years I do nothing so that they never know when it's going to hit. Writing this is stirring up creative juices and I have a feeling this will be a prankster year.
Kim Southworth
Eagle Mountain
Two years ago I pulled a not-so-original April Fools' Joke on my husband: I called him at work and, crying, told him I was pregnant (he knew this was NOT what I wanted at that point of my life!!). I was so convincing, however, that he believed me, and it wasn't until later that day that I laughingly told him the truth. This one backfired on me, however; two weeks later I found out I was six weeks along in my first pregnancy.
Julia Wall
Salt Lake City
When our children were young they, like many others, thought their parents were old and stuffy. On one April Fools' Day we decided to let them know we could do silly things too. About the time they were to come home from school, we posted a sign on the front door that read "Door Locked. Wait on front step." As they arrived one by one they obediently waited on the front step. Not one of them tried the door to see if the instruction was true. After about an hour we opened the door and told them "April Fools'."
Of course by this time the girls needed to go to the bathroom, so they rushed there. A few minutes later one of them came out laughing vigorously and making all sorts of entertaining comments and gestures. We had blown up some balloons and placed them in the toilet. They did not discover them until it was too late and it really gave them a start. Needless to say we enjoyed many laughs about our "obedient and unobservant" children.
Lowell C Dahl
Orem
My husband and I wanted to find a clever way to announce that I was expecting a baby. We were in a hotel with our children getting ready for a day at Disneyland. We had been telling April Fools' jokes as the family got ready, setting the kids up for our announcement. As we knelt for family prayer before our day of fun, my husband asked me purposely to offer the prayer. When I prayed, I thanked God for the baby. After prayers, our 9-year-old son gave me the most confused and quizzical look and queried, "You wouldn't April Fools' God, would you?" My husband and I had a good laugh and told him no, that I really was expecting. When the news sunk in, our children whooped and hollered because chances were slim for me to have another child. We celebrated as a family. As we took off for Disneyland, the children were very solicitous of my comfort and the baby's safety.
Rebecca Tyler
I worked with a woman who pulled off the best April Fools' joke I have heard of in a long time. She and her husband, a known prankster, were expecting their first child. She told him that she that an appointment with her OB on April 1. After the time of the appointment had passed, she called him at work and asked him if their insurance covered an ultrasound. He asked why and she responded that the doctor thought she heard more than one heartbeat. She told him she would call him after the ultrasound. She let him stew for an hour or so and then called again. She made herself sound very upset when she informed him that the ultrasound revealed three babies. Needless to say he was in shock. She let him stew for the remainder of the day before she confessed her April Fools' joke.
Sandra Langley
Ogden
Several years ago when my daughters, Lynsey and Jessi, were 7 and 10, we had a "herd" of guinea pigs (amazing how two, who we were assured were both females, became 11 in a matter of months!). One of the guinea pigs was multicolored -- black, orange and predominantly white. On April Fools' Day I used blue food coloring and dyed the guinea pig. When the girls got home from school, they were dumbstruck trying to figure out what had happened to "Checkers." How did he turn blue? Was he sick? I had to give up the game when they got themselves worked into such a lather they were nearly crying! We all had a good laugh afterward, though.
Jodi Barrus
West Bountiful
I had a friend act hysterical after seeing a wall picture in my boss's office, claiming it to be an original drawing by her late father.
She offered $200 on the spot. My boss told her he'd think about it and to come back later. The rest of the day he called friends and associates asking what they thought the picture was worth.
My friend returned and my boss was ready to accept her offer when I burst out laughing and let him in on the joke. He thought it was funny and gave my friend the picture free of charge for her great acting.
(Put clear tape over the mouthpiece of your co-workers' phones and listen to how loud they start talking into them.)
Mary Kaye Willden
West Jordan
The chairman of what was then the welfare department was my boss. His birthday was April 1. The department wanted to have a surprise birthday party for him to be held in his rather large office. I, being his secretary and in charge, decided to have a surprise for everyone.
We purchased a large sheet cake that was frosted with "Happy Birthday Commissioner" and all the other usual decorations. The whole staff came into his office at the appointed time, and in unison cried out, "Surprise!" We presented the cake and sang "Happy Birthday" to him. After the well wishes were expressed, he proceeded to cut the cake. He tried and tried but couldn't cut past the frosting. (The cake was made of frosted-over cardboard.)
As everyone was trying to figure out what was happening, I yelled out, "April Fool" and brought in another large sheet cake, decorated exactly like the first one. The commissioner cautiously cut into it and distributed it to his squealing, laughing staff. Since none other than myself knew of the hoax, it was a joke, it was a joke we all enjoyed. Of course, I had the most fun -- planning and keeping it a secret.
Shirley R. Shay
Taylorsville
In response to your newspaper request, I'd like to submit the best April Fools' jokes we've been able to pull off. On several occasions, we have offered yummy-looking chocolate nuts to good friends of ours. They soon come to find out that they are really chocolate-covered garlic cloves! The time this worked the best, was when I went visiting my close neighbors and slyly left a small dish of these on the kitchen counter. With that, I left a small note: "Please do not eat." Of course, most of the people who saw the note just couldn't resist, and most of those who were the "taste testers" were the men!
Another fun family trick is to fill the Oreo cookies with toothpaste. For years, my children forgot this might be the case until they took a nice, breath-taking.- bite! When they did get to the age where they remembered that these treats might be 'tricky,' they would kindly offer them to their friends! It's been a good one!
Sandy Thackeray
Holladay
Mormon missionaries are not above a little tomfoolery on April Fools' Day, as the following true incident from my mission days in the early 1970s reveals. (Names are abbreviated to protect the guilty.) Elder M., the Chuaoku Zone leader, could be quite a prankster and decided to play a little joke on Elder S., a junior companion under his jurisdiction.
Zone leaders had the responsibility of calling district leaders to report transfers. so Elder M. thought he would have a little fun with Elder S. on April 1, 1973. To ensure that Elder S. would figure out the joke, Elder M. asked to speak with Elder S. directly instead of to the district leader, which should be an obvious breach of protocol, and Elder M. emphasized, "Now Elder S., remember what day this is."
After some chitchat, Elder M. reported to Elder S. that he was to be transferred from Kurashiki, which was the westernmost city in the mission, to Toyama, the furthest city north and east, a distance as the crow flies of 300 miles and a maior train ride. Elder M. ended the conversation by reminding Elder S. what day it was, hung up and laughed to himself at his little joke. Someone should have told him he was dealing with a bunch of elders in Kurashiki who were: (a) clueless; (b) overly trusting; (c) a little naive; (d) all of the above.
A day or two after the phone call, Elder M. and his companion traveled to Kobe to attend the monthly zone leaders' conference. When he got there, Elder M. was immediately accosted by the Hokuriku zone leader who reported that an elder from Kurashiki had shown up unannounced in Toyama and in a pretty rotten mood after a marathon train ride from one side of Japan to the other.
"What was the deal? No one told me about any transfers!" asserted the perplexed Hokuriku zone leader.
Turning several shades of ashen after realizing the joke was on him, a discombobulated Elder M. decided that he had better take the bull by the horns and discuss the "transfer" with President M. Tom Shimizu, the erstwhile and always level-headed Salt Lake County commissioner and now mission president. Summoning what little courage he had left, Elder M. approached the president.
"Um, President Shimizu, I, uh tried to play a little April Fools' joke on Elder S. and, uh, well, told him that he had been, uh, you know, transferred from Kurashiki to Toyama . . . "
"And he went?" was all the president had to say.
After that, Elder M. was always referred to as President M. by those missionaries who were privy to his little prank. As for my minor role, I was the personal beneficiary of Elder M's impromptu stint as president for a day since the necessary reshuffling opened the door for me to be transferred from the gray, bleak heart of industrial Japan to a very beautiful suburb of Osaka called Toyonaka. And I assume that transfers were taken off the list of allowable zone leader April Fools' Day pranks.
Richard C. Engar
Holladay